


Carnival

by MadChes



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, Bullying, Fluff, Just some small elements of it, Kid Castiel (Supernatural), Kid Dean Winchester, M/M, Prince Dean, Technically but not exactly, Witch Castiel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-20
Updated: 2017-11-20
Packaged: 2019-02-04 20:15:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12778671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadChes/pseuds/MadChes
Summary: "He had been to the city a plenty of times before. His mother and father took him there regularly but this time it was different. He was alone, escaped from his caretakers to take a look at the city. He was filled with excitement for the carnival that was only a day away, too restless to wait in the confines of the palace."





	Carnival

**Author's Note:**

> Dean is 7 and Castiel is 6 in this.
> 
> Oh man, this is my first finished fanfic in ages. I've had the biggest writer's block but hopefully I'm recovering from it now! I have plenty of ideas for this universe for example and I would love to write them out if there are people interested in reading more. That being said, I'd love to hear what you think about this so please comment or at least leave a kudos if you enjoyed reading this!

The kingdom of Winchester resided on a tiny island, a couple hundred miles off the coast of the empire of Eden. It was mostly closed off from the outside world due to its remote location, not to mention there was only one port town in the whole island, the capital Lawrence. Mostly it was merchant ships that stopped by in this peaceful island, bringing goods from the continent, as well as the latest gossips or news to give the people of Lawrence something to talk about. Despite being a fairly large and busy city,  at least compared to the size of the other villages and towns on the island, nothing really happened there aside from the occasional scandals of the nobility.

It was the Midsummer's Carnival that was the highlight of the year for the islanders. For only three days a year, colorful decorations and upbeat music filled usually so gray and dull streets, breathing a new kind of life into the boring city of Lawrence.

Prince Dean sat, or more like stood, on his knees on the hard seat of the tram, peeking out of the window in awe and wonder at the passing buildings as he pressed his tiny nose against the glass. The wheels rattled against the tracks and every now and then there was a bump in the road. It made Dean giggle every time.

He had been to the city a plenty of times before. His mother and father took him there regularly but this time it was different. He was alone, escaped from his caretakers to take a look at the city. He was filled with excitement for the carnival that was only a day away, too restless to wait in the confines of the palace.

The tram came to an eventual halt and pulled Dean from his daze. His head turned from side to side quickly to see other people flood out of the tram car and onto the streets. It took another look out of the window for Dean to realize that they had reached the market place.

The excitement build in Dean’s stomach as he jumped off his seat and out of the tram, little butterflies filling his insides and giving him that familiar fluttery feeling. The market place looked busier than ever as stalls and decorations were put up. The sound of laughter and the constant rumble of voices filled the air and there was an unmistakable scent of pastries drifting into Dean’s nose. He wished he had some coins on him to buy himself a slice of delicious pie, apple or cherry flavoured.

Maybe he should beg his mother to buy him a slice tomorrow, when they would come into town for the carnival.

Dean made his way towards the piers, and to his luck went unnoticed by the surrounding people. Despite his fancy clothes he was just one of the many kids running around the city, as no one really paid attention to children. Not in such a big place.

The pier seemed even busier than the marketplace with dozens of ships and boats bringing new people into the city. Merchants, performers, and artisans from all over the world to showcase their talents and valuables. Right in front of Dean was a huge merchant ship unloading it’s wares onto the docks. 

The boxes seemed big and heavy, something that immediately piqued Dean’s interest. He padded towards them slowly, his green eyes wide and twinkling. The workers stacked them one on top of another just like those wooden blocks Dean often played with and they just stood there waiting for someone to knock them over.

Dean tried the stack of boxes with his hands, giving it a few hard shoves before pouting. It wasn’t moving anywhere, not toppling like his wooden blocks. So boring.

Wandering along the pier, Dean came accross all sorts of things but nothing that he would have taken a particular interest in. There were a lot of more boxes unloaded from the ships, but they soon turned boring to the young prince with a fickle interest in things.

At a faraway corner where the docks almost ended, Dean found a ship a lot smaller than the most. There weren’t any boxes carried out of it either and the people aboard were dressed in funny clothing. He was too shy to approach them, however, and he only watched them from a distance with round eyes. There was something ethereal about them in Dean’s mind. He had read about fairies once, and that’s what the strange people reminded him of first, but that didn’t seem right. There was something grander about them but Dean couldn’t put it into words.

Watching them soon became boring as well however, they really weren’t doing anything but talking anyway, and Dean eventually moved on with an intention to head back towards the marketplace to see if he could find something more interesting. This time he walked through the small alleyways instead of the main street. The streets were a lot narrower and wherever he walked, there would be at least a hundred different turns he could take, like in a labyrinth. Sure, it could be a little scary walking there with so many shadows that were cast by the tall houses, but Dean lived for the excitement. It made his heart beat out of his chest and stomach flutter.

“P-Please-”

Dean barely could hear the cry for help but it made him stop in his tracks. Listening closely, the voice was soon followed by laughing. Taking a deep breath Dean made the decision to walk towards the voices, always such a knight in shining armor despite his young age.

What he found was a kid,clearly younger than himself, surrounded by three boys. “Oh, look. The witch is crying,” one of them snickered, “Maybe he will cast a curse on us.”

The younger boy’s bright blue eyes were watery and tears streamed down his cheeks. He was shaking his head quickly as he pressed himself back against a brick wall. “I-I…. I’m not a witch!” he stammered out as his whole body visibly shook. Tiny hands squeezed around something that was around the boy’s neck, looking for some comfort from it.

“Liar! We saw you with the other witches!” One of the bullies claimed.

Dean’s hands squeezed into fists as he gathered his courage. The bullies were bigger than him, though only slightly, but Dean had been trained in different martial arts along the years to make the crown prince a skilled fighter with or without weapons. He had confidence that he could win, even if it was three against one. “L-Leave him alone!” Despite the hint of nervousness that could be heard from Dean’s voice, he ran towards the bullies and threw a punch with all of his strength.

An air of confusion lingered between the boys as their attention shifted towards Dean. The bully Dean had managed to punch was now on the ground on his ass, holding onto the cheek that would without doubt form a bruise later on. “What the fuck?” he said as he pushed himself up from the ground. “What are you? This little bitch’s boyfriend?”

Dean’s chances of winning had seemed a lot greater only few seconds ago. The bullies seemed about ten times bigger and more intimidating now with their aggression directed towards Dean. A boy like Dean, even though young, did have the natural instinct to protect the weak but that turned out to be a weakness very often when he didn’t seem to think things through, like now.

With not much time to think, Dean sprinted past the bullies and grabbed the boy’s hand as he headed down the alley, making a sharp turn to the right as soon as that was possible. The bullies were after them, he could hear them, but Dean just squeezed the boy’s hand more tightly as he tugged him along. He was going towards the marketplace, knowing that the bullies wouldn’t dare to do anything with so many people around them.

Unfortunately, Dean ended up taking a wrong turn somewhere and they ended up in a dead end. The bullies had lost sight of them by now but the were still pretty close, judging by the noises. Glancing up at the stone wall, Dean knew that he could climb over it but he wasn’t too sure about the boy with him. “Come on. I’ll help you up,” he said and turned towards the boy.

The boy’s eyes widened. “W-What?”

“Hurry up! We have no time to dawdle,” Dean continued, already trying to help the boy to reach the top of the wall. The boy was a little reluctant but he did reach to grab the edge and pull himself up.

The voices were getting louder by now and Dean didn’t waste time climbing up either. By the time he was on the other side of the wall, the boy was still on top of it, staring down at the ground with scared look on his face. “Jump down! I’ll catch you,” Dean assured and spread his arms to show the boy that he wasn’t lying.

It took a bit but eventually the boy did jump down from the wall, right into Dean’s arms. Except Dean failed to catch the boy miserably and he fell back into the ground with the boy falling on top of him.

“O-Oh! I’m so-” the boy gasped though wasn’t able to finish his sentence before Dean clamped his hand on top of the boy’s mouth. 

“Where did they go?” Dean could hear one of the bullies from the other side of the wall. His heart was beating faster from nervousness and fear and by the look of the boy’s bright blue eyes growing wider, and the warm breath was getting faster against his palm, he was terrified as well.

When the voices finally were far enough for Dean not to hear them anymore, he took his hand from the boy's mouth and grinned at him widely. “That was a close one!” he laughed, sitting up so the boy was forced to get off of him. He still looked a bit wary but at least he wasn’t shaking anymore. “I’m Dean! What’s your name?” he asked, shoving his hand forward to shake the boy’s hand.

The boy was visibly hesitant, his tiny hands once again fiddling with the thing around his neck. The blue eyes dropped down to look at Dean’s hand, a worried look soon forming on his face. “You’re hurt,” he said.

Dean blinked before looking down, realizing that he had scratched his palm, as there was blood dripping from it. “Oh, that must have happened when I fell,” he mused and was about to wipe the blood away on his trousers but they boy caught him, taking Dean’s hand in both of his.

The boy’s fingers were cold against his skin but as his hand was sandwiched between the two hands, he felt them slowly turn from warm to almost burning hot. Something stopped Dean from pulling his hand back though and a soft light, like from a flickering flame, shone from between their palms. Dean found himself so captivated that he didn’t even realize what had happened when the boy pulled his hands back.

The wound on his palm was completely gone, like it never had been there to begin with. Only trace of it that was left behind was a streak of that burning hot feeling lingering right where the wound had been. Dean stared down at his palm in awe before he looked up to the boy, who was watching Dean anxiously with his teeth chewing on his lower lip. “Whoa,” Dean breathed out.

“I’m sorry. It was my fault that you got hurt,” the boy mumbled, glancing at Dean before staring intently down at the ground. “B-But I’m not a witch! I swear! I’m an Enochian!” he explained hastily.

Dean didn’t know the difference between the two but at that moment he didn’t care. Now he had something way more interesting to think about. “That was amazing!” he breathed out excitedly, moving closer to the boy. “How did you do that?! Can you teach me to do it as well?”

The boy seemed surprised more than anything, tilting his head just slightly. “I-I’m sorry,” he mumbled and shook his head quickly. “I can’t…”

Pouting, Dean looked clearly disappointed and he crossed his arms. “What? Why not? That’s so unfair!” he huffed out.

“I’m sorry,” The boy repeated, his teeth chewing on his lower lip. “I don’t know how I do it. I just… do,” he tried to explain, though very badly. 

Of course, being such a simple child, Dean still accepted the explanation without a question. “That’s too bad,” he said and didn’t linger on it any longer, standing up from the ground while wiping some dust off from his clothes. Not that it would have helped much with the amount of dirt he had gotten on himself during their escape. “Let’s get going!”

“Um, to where?” the boy asked softly, pushing himself up as well even if his leg seemed to be a slightly shaky still. 

Dean reached to take the boy’s hand into his own. The soft skin was cold once again, like there hadn’t been any heat radiating from it just moments ago. Dean had to tug the boy along gently to get him to walk along with him towards the marketplace. “I’ll take you to safe,” he promised and glanced at the boy, grinning brightly.

The boy blushed lightly, looking down to the ground shyly as he followed Dean. A silence fell between them as neither of them didn’t carry the conversation Dean could feel the boy’s fingers entwining with his own, squeezing onto him more tightly. It made Dean happy and made the butterflies flutter in his stomach again even though it wasn’t from excitement this time. It was from a feeling that was quite unfamiliar to Dean but nevertheless, it made him happy. 

Happy enough to feel disappointed when they reached the marketplace and the boy finally opened his mouth. “I… I think I should go. My mom is probably worried.”

Dean pouted. He would have had wanted to spend more time with his new friend because of not having any friends of his own age. His younger brother Sam was only three so he wasn’t much of a companion yet and his best friend Benny, a son of one of the knights, was four years older than him with friends of his own outside of the palace. Being the prince was really lonely. “Um… will you be fine by yourself?” he asked. Maybe the boy would ask Dean to walk him home.

Unfortunately for Dean, the boy nodded. “It’s not too far away.” He shifted from foot to foot in his place, looking down at the ground before he turned his blue eyes up to Dean’s. The smallest little smile spread on his lips. “Thank you for saving me, D-Dean,” he said. His voice was very quiet and he was squeezing the thing around his neck again. “I… I really want to make it up to you.”

Shaking his head, Dean smiled back at the boy. “It’s no problem! I promise!” he assured.

The boy seemed to hesitate before he took off the thing around his neck, lifting his hands and standing on his toes so he could slip it on Dean. “As a thank you,” the boy mumbled. “Mom said it’s for protection.” Dean lifted to look at it, examining it curiously. It was some kind of amulet in the form of an ugly head. 

But it was a present and Dean appreciated it a lot. “Thank you!” he said happily, almost bouncing on his feet. “I’ll treasure it!”

The boy chuckled softly and leaned in to press a kiss on Dean’s cheek. “I’m Castiel,” he breathed out before taking a step back. “Um… bye then.”

And with that,  _ Castiel _ turned around to dash away, leaving Dean to stand there in confusion. He hadn’t really expected the kiss, or for Castiel to run away so suddenly. But it all left a wide smile on him. They were friends now after all and Castiel had even given him a present.

The familiar rattling of wheels caught Dean’s attention and he whipped his head around to see a tram pull up to its last stop. Grumbling in his stomach reminded him of the nearing dinnertime and his mother probably would be worried soon. He probably should start heading back to the palace.

With an extra bounce in his steps Dean ran over to the tram, knowing he would meet Castiel again soon.

**Author's Note:**

> This wasn't beta'd so I apologize for any weird grammar or typos :)


End file.
